Canadian Cheddar and Guinness Dip

Happy St. Patrickâs Day everyone! Today we get to celebrate all things Irish â including one of our favourite brews, Dublinâs own Guinness beer. I love the complexity of Guinness, its depth of flavour mixes so well with other bold notes like chocolate or chiles, and itâs phenomenal with a good aged Canadian Cheddar cheese! This dip whips up so quickly Iâm sure youâll be serving it all year round. If you canât find Guinness be sure to use another equally dark porter or stout â the more flavour you can add in here, the yummier the dip will be.

Serves 4-6

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup Guinness or other dark porter/stout beer

1 1/4 cup aged Canadian cheddar

3/4 cup chopped artichoke hearts

1-2 teaspoons red chile flakes â or to taste

dash sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix all of the above ingredients together in a bowl and place into an oven-proof baking dish. Bake at 375F for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbling on top. Remove from oven and let cool for 15-20 minutes before serving. Serve with your favourite Raincoast Crisps â we like this with the Cranberry Hazelnut or the Wheat Free Cranberry ones. Enjoy!

After over 15 years as one of Canada's top catering chefs and fine food shop owners, Lesley Stowe has now become "Cracker Queen" of North America with her award winning Raincoast Crisps. Here on her blog she shares recipes, entertaining tips, restaurant reviews and travel tales with fellow foodies across the globe.